The Thunder Storm
by VioletPhoenix333
Summary: Everybody always thought her kind was wiped out by the flue, how wrong they were. She walks a lonely road after what happened, who could blame her? But when she finds a certain Jester on the side of the road, what's there not to love? Maybe she doesn't she have to be lonely. Rated M to be sure.
1. fixed

The wheels of the carriage splash in the mud as the horse pulled it ran through the rain and thick mud. The driver a woman dressed in a black cloak and gloves with a hood shrouding her face from view. In the back of the carriage were two pups, not just any pups. Lilmothiit pups, one black with green eyes the other white with red eyes.

Just then the carriage hit a deep pothole in the road breaking the right front wheel off the carriage. The carriage rolled sideways causing the two pups to fall out to the ground but the carriage flipped again and landed on top of the driver as she fell to the ground.

The white pup tired to stand up on all four legs but fell as his one leg broke, he looked over and limped his way over to his sister. He nudged his sister with his nose and she stood. They look over and seen the driver with her hood off and her face revealed. She was a Limothit mother of two, her once sparkling white fur coat now caked in thick brown mud.

The pups go up to her and nudge her face with her theirs, the tiny black baby pup whines and goes to cuddle with her. The other pup knew better, his sister was still a baby so she didn't know any better.

The older pup sits "I'll take care of her mum, don't worry" with that the older pup licked their mother one last time before he and his sister howled sadly to let her go. Just then he heard the sound of guars along with the sound of horses and shouting.

"Sis we have to go, now" the younger puppy just whined and stayed put, she didn't even know how to speak. He growled when he spotted a guar, he picked up his sister by the scruff of her neck with his teeth. The younger puppy kept crying as her brother limped through the woods carrying his sister.

He had to stop to catch his breath, but then he could hear dogs along with guars now, he started to panic as he he started off again. He carried his sister as far as he could, he spotted some stink weed so he put her down and covered her in it as he could hear the hunters getting closer.

Just after he finished hiding his sister in the stink weed he heard the dogs and guars closing in on them.

"Stay hidden" he says. With that he turns around and with a flash of white fire he transform into a fox the size of a lion right when the hunters arrive. He snarls and snaps at the hunters and the hunting animals. One of the argonian hunters yelled sending both dogs and guars after the giant fox.

The dogs run up but the fox grabs the one dog by the neck and slams it into the boulder behind him. He made quick work of the guars throwing them around like rag dolls, but what he didn't see however was the dog on the rock behind him. The little pup went to warn her brother but it was too late, the dog jumped on her brothers back and sank its teeth into the back of his neck.

The white fox whined and ripped around but the dog never let go, just then the team of hunters unleashed a fury of arrows from their bows. The white fox went down but not dead, the leader came up.

A mean looking red argonian with a scar down his left eye, he was big. Built like the nords of the north. He walked up to the white fox on the ground and pulled out his battleaxe from years of use, the little pup had to watch helplessly as the leader pulled up the battleaxe ready to swing.

Just before the axe came down the white fox said "Run sis, you have to run" he whispered to his sister as he begged her to run away so she wouldn't get caught as well. Just then the little pup watched as her brother's head was taken clean off with one swing of the axe. The leader picked up his head and carried it back to the road.

"Find the other, make sure she doesn't get too damaged. Need i remind you she's worth a lot of money"

"Yes sir!" the hunters saluted their leader and commanded the dogs to start searching again.

The little pup whimpered and took off from the stinkweed but the smell was still on her, the dog that crippled her brother seen her. The dog barked and ran off chasing her through the swap, the little pup ran as fast as she could not knowing where she was going but just running. She could hear the hunters and dogs following her.

As she was running she didn't see where she was going and bumped into something big, she froze as she looked up and seen a man in an all brown robe made from leather. She thought quickly as the man looked down at her scared little face and tail between her legs. She ran and hid under his robe since it touched the ground.

The man was confused but didn't think about it as he seen the hunters and dogs, it was at that moment he knew exactly what was going on. A little black limothiit pup with green eyes, he knew what was going on.

"Shera" the lead hunter said with disgust.

"Vaneth" the man said with equal amount of disgust.

"You didn't happen to see a little black fox running this way to did you?" Vaneth asked.

"How could i? You killed them all remember with your so called 'flu'" Shera said with hate in his voice "Or axe as i should call it that"

Vaneth growled and commanded his men to search somewhere else, he didn't have time to deal with this damn wood elf. He took his horse and had the convo search someplace else, elves are evil creatures. Vaneth with disgust and frustration, knew the elf had the fox but he wasn't stupid enough to face the elf face to face, not at the moment at least. He was too weak against the elves very powerful magic, he was the strongest of them all in Black Marsh. And they walked off looking again somewhere else.


	2. That night

When Vaneth was out of sight Shera moved his robe and seen the little pup covering its eyes and shaking from fear. He smiled warmly and bent down to her level "Hi there little one" the little pup slowly moved her paws "Everything is okay now, i'm not going to hurt you. The bad man is gone, you are safe now"

The pup looked around then relaxed when she didn't see the red argonian, she stood on all fours "You must only be a couple months old, you can't even speak yet can you?" the pup cocked her head to the side. Shera smiled at her "Why don't you stay with me? I can keep you safe from the bad man and teach you"

The little pup yipped happily and Shera picked her up like a newborn baby "Mooner" he called and a troll came walking up with a grey horse tied to a wagon full of what looked to be camping supplies. Shera puts the pup in the wagon to let her rest "Now we must think of a name for you"

The pup gave him the strangest look and started to open her mouth "M...my...na..name….Rus..Ruska" she barely got out.

Shera was impressed, limothiit pups don't start talking until they're at least a year old, but he could tell by the way she acts that she can't be no more than ten months old. He kept smiling with his head held high as the group started off on the trail once more.

Ruska was in awe, she had never actually seen the outside world as her parents never let her leave the house along with her brother. Only their parents were allowed to go outside, their father had to stay home while their mother went to the market to buy supplies. Their mother had to stay home while their father worked nights and sometimes days. Their mother would cry every night when their father left.

Ruska was sad but happy at the same time, that's when she felt something around her neck. She pulled on this metal chain which had a silver locket.

" _Shine you have to take the pups and leave this place for good" her father said as he was dressed in a red and black leather armour. "Why what has happened love?" her mother said as she trembled in her blue dress that made her all white fur stand out. Her father was saddened that he has to tell the truth "The sanctuary was found and brought to its knees, everyone was slaughtered" he spoke softly with tears fighting their way to show but he would never cry in the face of danger. "Oh god, Midnight i'm so sorry" she said as she went to hug her husband "There is no time for this you have to take the pups and leave, they are coming" "But what about you?" "Do not worry about me, the night mother guides my blade" with that their father put a locket on each pup before their mother carried them to the carriage and riding off._

Ruska was filled with rage as that memory came back to her, she remembered watching her father die at the hands of the man who killed her whole family in one day. She was so filled with hate and rage that she started to break things in the wagon.

Shera stopped and turned around when he heard soft crying, he seen little Ruska staring at a locket. Then he seen her eyes change from green to red with black smoke coming from them, he had to take action when she started to break everything after that.

He picked her up and hugged her as she growled and snapped at him, but he just rubbed her head and held her tight. She soon calmed down and started to cry as she got closer to him, he spoke soft words to her before she fell asleep in his arms.

" _That's why they were after you isn't it"_ Shera thought to himself as he laid her carefully back in the wagon. He seen that her front paws were turning into hands and smiled, he was right, she's almost a year old. But now they had to backtrack to the market again to buy more supplies after she had broken most of them.

" _That's why they were after her, because she's part of the Doom pack, well most likely the last of the Doom pack. She could be very well be the last Limothiit ever"_ Shera kept thinking to himself.

It was hours before they made it back to the cave slash home that Shera had made for himself and his friends. By the time they made it there it was getting dark and Ruska was wagging her tail in the wagon. Shera was exhausted but he didn't let that keep him from doing his duties to keep everything in order.

He helped Ruska settle into her new life as the last of her kind, as she was growing up he taught her how to walk on two feet like she should at this age. Her walking on two feet was odd, she didn't walk like the others of her kind on flat foot. No she walked on the fronts of her feet like a dog would if it were standing on its back legs as the same for her legs.

Shera taught her how to speak properly but she didn't have the accent like others of her kind, she sounded like a bosmer in a way. Smooth and cunning, Shera had put it because it's the way he sounds that she thinks it's how to sound the correct way. He never corrected her on it.

When she got older he started to teach her the way of the limothiit illusion, to which she caught on very quickly. Now she has the same ability like her brother did. She can now transform into a bigger fox as long with other animals.

Then he started teaching her how to wield a blade so she could defend herself, she caught on very fast to the point where it scared Shera on how fast she caught on. Then he taught her magic, she didn't like magic but she caught on in time. When she turned sixteen he taught her how to ride a horse so she could get away easier than running.

She had to use a stool for now to get on the horse since it had no saddle at the time, then again the Limothiit aren't the tallest of beast folk, in fact they were the smallest. They stop growing when they reach the age of 18, when they become an adult, but that's still not very tall. It's about four feet tall, shorter than a bosmer.

Then came that one fateful night where her life would change forever.


	3. Fear is something you control

Two years later, Ruska is eighteen and Shera is old and grey but still a fighter.

It was raining and thundering, Ruska laid curled up with the old horse stomp. Mooner was killed by Vaneth's hunters, Shera wasn't happy so he killed those hunters with his magic. That was earlier today when they were at the market buying food and blankets. Shera was still upset that they were attacked in the market, they were never attacked before. But of course he knew Vaneth would be on the hunt looking for Ruska.

It was at that thought that he noticed a glow coming from the outside of the cave, he sighed and looked over at Ruska laying with Stomp in her hide leather armour. She was never able to wear shoes do to the way her legs and feet were. He stood and grabbed his staff before making his way over to her and whispering something into her ear.

She started to glow a blue light, Stomp looked at him and Shera petted him before the animal went back to sleep. Shera sighed once more and made his way to the opening of the cave, he seen Vaneth and his band of hunters. He was surrounded by them.

"Hello Vaneth" he said calmly, he knew this time would come at some point.

"Hello Shera" Vaneth also said calmly, he was here for what was his.

"For what do i owe for this special visit?" Shera growled out.

"Oh i think you know why i'm here, you have something that belongs to me and i want it back"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Shera acted confused.

Vaneth laughed then he whistled and a beast ran in and tackled Shera to the ground, Vaneth laughed even more as he picked up Shera's staff of lightning "Werecrocodiles, so loyal yet so hard to find"

"Really Vaneth i thought you were against the beast of black marsh?" Shera growled out as his head was being pushed against a rock.

"Ah no, i'm against the non scaled beast of black marsh" Vaneth looked at his men "Go in after it and don't underestimate it"

"You monster, she's only a child!" Vaneth just looked at the staff "Whatever you plan on doing to her it'll never work"

"Oh i don't intend on keeping it or killing it"

Shera froze "What do you intend to do to her?" he asked not sure if he wanted to know.

"I intend on selling her to a very very wealthy cat in Skyrim named Vasha"

"Why are you telling me if i could break free and escape?"

"Cuz i'm gonna kill you, in front of your pet" Shera was terrified now, not for himself but for Ruska. She told him everything that she remembered about that night, the way she seen her family die that night all in the same way.

When the hunters went in they seen Ruska curled up with a horse on the ground, to them she looked liked a child that was sleeping peacefully. Her tail was curled around her keeping her warm, for a second one of the hunters felt bad for her. But only for a second. The hunters grab her by the legs and arms, her eyes shot open and she kicked and thrashed and bit at them making the hunters tie her muzzle shut. Stomp stood and was biting the hunters, the hunters killed the horse without a second thought as they carried the fighting Ruska out of the cave.

They carried her outside the cave where she seen Shera being held down by a monster of some kind. Another hunter came up with a steel collar and clipped it around her neck while a shamon of some kind chanted something then the collar shocked her.

Then after she stopped fighting from being shocked they tied her hands together and shoved her in a cage.

"Any last words Shera?" Vaneth asked as he started to pulled out his axe.

Shera's eyes went to Ruska's "Ruska dear, never be scared, fear is something you control. Use you gift to its fullest potential"

With that Ruska cried out as Vaneth swung the axe down cutting Shera's head off in one go as it held a proudful smile. Ruska cried and cried but nobody cared as they picked up the cage and carried to a carriage where they put her in the back. Vaneth jumped on the back of his horse after he picked up Shera's head and put it into a box full other heads, Ruska got a glance and seen all the heads from the limothiits that he killed.

Ruska just cried as she was taken from her home and to a place unknown to her. She had no idea what to do now, she thought her life was getting back together with Master Shera but she was just tricked. With that she transformed into her little fox form, the collar changing with her and she went to sleep, she just wanted this nightmare to be over.


	4. depressed

Some time passed and they made it to the border of black marsh and Cyrodiil, they stopped to take a break since they'd been walking nonstop for four straight hours now. They set up a campsite so they could rest and eat.

"Have the thing eat as well, we don't need it starving to death before we reach Skyrim" Vaneth commanded "And make sure she doesn't run off"

A hunter came up to the cage and seen the little black fox, at first he thought that the prisoner escaped but then he remembered what these creatures were capable of. He grabbed a rope and tied it to the collar and pulled her out of the cage.

"Come on, the boss says you gotta eat" the hunter said as he walked the little fox to the fire they had made. Vaneth watched the hunters act around the fox as they tried to feed her but she wouldn't eat.

Lizzy though was nice to her when she wouldn't eat, she actually got the fox to eat some bread she was saving for later. Ruska ate it without a problem that actually made Vaneth smile, he couldn't have this walking money bag starving.

As Ruska ate the bread she seen that everybody was looking at her, she pulled her legs to her chest as with everyone watching her made her nervous. Her ears went down to show her unease and her tail curled around her. After she made herself look like a ball of fluff they stopped looking at her but it was mostly out of awe as they had never seen anything like her before. When everyone was starting to go to bed Lizzy was walking Ruska back to her cage, unable to think of what to do she complied with Lizzy. Ruska was just so broken she couldn't fight back so she was placed back in her cage for the rest of the night.

When morning came Ruska was still her cage, she didn't speak a word but Lizzy was riding on the back of the wagon with her now. She offered water to her but Ruska just turned away from her, she offered a piece of meat which again resulted in Ruska turning away. This saddened Lizzy as Ruska was really close to her last night.

"Stop being so nice to the creature Lizzy or the boss will have your head next" some other hunter told Lizzy but Lizzy didn't care.

"But look at her" Lizzy mumbled as she pointed at Ruska who was curled up into herself with tear stained eyes and the fur around her eyes had dark stripes running down her face from the onsult of crying. She didn't look at either one of the two as they looked at her "She looks so sad"

Lizzy was an aorgian with green scales and blue eyes, Ruska was just depressed but she was thankful for Lizzy as she was the only one that was showing any kind of kindness towards her. Again Lizzy offered some water and Ruska took it this time, this made Lizzy smile as Ruska drank. Afterwards Ruska went right back to laying down and ignoring her, Lizzy looked around and seen that they were already halfway through Cyrodiil. She sighed at this as they would reach the border to Skyrim soon, she then seen a normal fox run across the road and got an idea.

Ruska watched quietly as Lizzy pulled some things from her bag and started to make something in her hands. Even knowing Ruska was an adult she was still kinda like a child to the lizard men. Ruska seen that Lizzy was making a doll but not just any doll, a fox doll, she had used some of the hide of a wolf they had killed and used some rice to fill the doll. As Lizzy was making the last stich to the doll's belly they stopped, she looked up and seen they were stopped by guards and they were blocking the way into skyrim.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vaneth commanded.

"Sorry sir but we can't let you into skyrim while the war rages on" a guard said.

Vaneth not happy hissed at the guards "Well when can we enter?" he asked.

"When the war is over sir"

Vaneth now even more angry than before ordered his men to camp near the border so they could come up with something.


	5. Thank you

Ruska was sitting in her cage while everyone was setting up a campsite for the rest of the night, she watched hunters set up tents and set up cooking stations. She could smell Lizzy a couple feet away from her cage and she looked over at the woman who was looking over the doll she had made.

Ruska looked away when she heard someone walk up to them "Lizzy!" Lizzy jumped up and stood straight as Vaneth talked "What the hell do you think you're doing just sitting around and fiddling with a stupid doll?!" he yelled.

Ruska covered her ears from his voice "Well sir i had seen a fox cross the road earlier and i thought it would be ok if i had made a doll for the girl to have while we transported her"

Vaneth hissed and back handed her and knocked her to the ground making the doll fall out of her hand and right next to Ruska's cage "Stupid bitch! I've told you not to be nice to the creature! It's a vile being that shouldn't even live!"

Lizzy looks up scared "But she" she was kicked in the side before she could finish.

"But nothing! You engage yourself with that beast you get punished!" he yelled kicking her nonstop.

Ruska didn't know what to do as she watched this happen right in front of her and it made her angry. As she started to growl to herself a voice called out to her " _ **Kill them child, kill them all"**_ Ruska's eyes start to go red as she starts to attack the metals bars of the cage. Vaneth stopped kicking Lizzy and Lizzy slowly looked into the cage and seen those red eyes glowing back at her. She freaks out and runs away from the cage limping as she did.

Vaneth watched as Ruska attacked the cage however this resulted in the collar shocking her making her growl even more. Vaneth watched as the collar shocked her nonstop until she calmed down a little, he smirked as Ruska calmed down but still growled at him. Once he walked away he commanded his men to get the beast some bread. The hunters were too scared of Ruska to even go near her cage so they asked Lizzy who said she didn't want to get hurt which was understandable. Ruska paced in her cage in her little form " _ **Failure!"**_ the voice yelled at her nonstop and somehow this made her even more angry.

Ruska froze when she heard someone opening her cage, she turned her head slowly to see Lizzy putting a bowl of water in her cage near the gate. When Lizzy seen her eyes she froze with fear, Ruska growled " _ **Kill them all, this is your chance!"**_ the voice screamed at her. Her red eyes started to glow brightly and black smoke formed around them Lizzy started to shake.

Someone came over to see if she was ok making Ruska ran out of the cage and jump over Lizzy transforming into her giant fox. Everyone yelled as Ruska ran after a hunter and the poor man wasn't fast enough as Ruska grabbed his tail and flung him into the fire. Ruska kept chasing after guards and soon she came face to face with the same beast that held down master Shera. The beast was on all fours snarling at her, she crouched down and snarled right back at it, all the while the voice kept praising her. This was causing her to come back to her senses and her eyes started to go back to normal. Vaneth ran out of his tent just in time to see both beast charge at each other. Ruska jumped over the beast just in time and changed into her normal self taking a dagger and stabbing the beast in the back of the neck and separating the spinal cord.

Vaneth went wide eyed and he ordered his men to attack her, she dodged them easily sending daggers their way and have them stab the hunters in the chest killing them. She was running now trying to get away from a group of hunters that was chasing her, she ran faster than them making them confused since she was so short and jumped onto a wagon grabbing two swords that were sitting on a chest. She quickly turned just in time to see another hunter jump on the wagon and swing his word down at her, she easily ducked and kicked the man in the gut sending him back to the ground.

Another man goes to jump on her but she jumps from the wagon and runs to the forest close by with the hunters following her. Vaneth was pissed about this but couldn't do anything as some people came up to the camp on horses, he looked to them and seen that Vasha had found them "How did you find us cat?" he asked.

"I have eyes everywhere Vaneth but where is my doggie?" Vaneth just shook his head and pointed over to the woods where they seen Ruska had managed to climb a tree to get away from the group of hunters. Vasha's jaw dropped "What is this Vaneth? You said she would be in a cage too broken to fight back!" he yelled.

Vaneth just watched her face, her ears twitched and her eyes scanned everything around her. A hunter managed to climb the tree she was in and get himself to the branch she was in, she turned her head towards him and raised both of her swords at the man. The man charged at her and she ducked while slicing his legs making him fall to his knees. His face filled with fear as he turned his head towards her, she stood over him with a hateful glare before using her one sword to slice his throat. Another man jumps up just as she pushes the other off, her ears twitched at him with every little sound his armour and feet made.

Vaneth just watched as she took out two more of his hunters before they stopped going after her, he seen that her eyes landed on his face and her eyes went red for a second before she jumped out of the tree and rolled as she landed. She transformed and ran for it "Go after her damnit! I'm paying good money for this dog now go get her!" the cat yelled.

Ruska could hear them behind her coming after her but she just kept running, soon she found a tree easy to climb, she made sure to be careful with her claws as to not leave tracks to find her. She transformed into a crow and stayed in a tree and watched above them. She watched as all the hunters walked below her and she seen Vaneth and a khajiit talking about how a payment will not happen if she was not found. Vaneth was having none of it and wasn't even listening to the cat man as they walked through the woods looking for her.

Once she thought they had all gone past she flew down from the tree and behind another tree before changing back to her normal self. She peeked around the tree and seen that Vaneth had heard her move, along with Vasha. She quickly hid behind the tree again but before she could make a run for it both men were at the tree blocking her escape.

" _ **KILL THEM! They caused all this death in your life now kill them!"**_ the voice screamed at her.

Before Ruska even knew what she was doing her eyes went bright red and a glow came from her mouth as her anger grew beyond what she had ever felt before. In a ball of black fire she growled and snarled while she tackled Vasha first, Vaneth was shocked to see how fast Ruska tackled the cat and used his tail to slam him against the tree beside them before ripping into his stomach. He couldn't move as he watched Ruska stare at him and lick the blood from her lips indicating that she enjoyed killing the cat. Vaneth was just able to run away and back to the camp with Ruska chasing after him.

There was one hunter who was hiding under a wagon that watched Vaneth run out of the woods with terror clear on his face. Soon Ruska was right behind him and pinned him to the ground, Vaneth screamed as her claws dug into his back but his cries were soon cut off as she grabbed his head with her teeth. With great force she forcefully ripped his head clean off and when she dropped it her eyes went back to normal and she changed back into her normal form.

She looked up and didn't see anyone around so she looked at her hands and licked her mouth again tasting the blood on her lips sending her in a happy state. She then sniffed the air and smelled someone she thought she knew, she looked right at the wagon making the person under it cower further under. Ruska then looked away and walked into Vaneth's tent and picked up a bag and Shera's staff of flame walls that Vaneth had kept. She clipped it in on harness on her back before walking out and picked up Vaneth's head, she stared at it for a second before burning all the skin and meat off the skull. Ruska then placed the skull of her fallen enemy into the bag before wrapping it around her shoulder. Ruska looked back at the wagon once more before she walked back over to the cage they forced her in and seen the little doll laying beside it.

She smiled softly before bending over and picking it up and placed that within her bag as well. She took the swords as well and they were at her sides, she stopped at the wagon again "Thank you Lizzy" she said softly but loud enough to hear then she changed into her big fox and ran north.


	6. Skull

Ruska ran and ran until she found a small lake, she stopped and turned into her little form as to not scare anybody and or anything. She looked around and didn't see anything so she started drinking the water like she hadn't drank anything for days. Ruska then heard something and crouched down so she wasn't seen or heard. She stayed still and waited, then she heard talking. Keeping still she waited some more and right as she was about to get up and leave she saw something move and the talking got louder. She then seen a couple cat people walking to the lake to fill some bottles of theirs.

The they noticed the water had a slight red tint color to it, the blood from Ruska's mouth and hands had washed itself off when she drank the water. They looked around but didn't see anyone or anything, well at least that's what she thought. One of the men pointed over to her bush before pulling out a sword, the girls ran back to the road with worried looks on their faces. Annoyed by this Ruska just left and man calmed down seeing that it was just a fox hiding from them. Ruska stopped on a tall rock nearby and watched them for a little before leaving again, she ran north again.

She kept running and didn't stop for nobody, well until the collar shocked her again as she passed a snowy path. The voice was hissing at her again and telling her to go down that path, not wanting to get hurt anymore she followed the order with gusto. The path led her to a city covered in snow, she hated the snow in this place but followed the calling in her darkened soul. On she walked in her little form up to the gate only to have things thrown at her by the two guards stationed there. She was told to beat it having a sweet roll thrown at her, she grabs it and leaves hearing the two bicker about one being the others lunch or something.

She sits at the end of the bridge and yipped because the collar shocked her out of nowhere with a force worse than the last. She whined a little when she smelt the burning of her fur around her neck, she lays down looking at the doors. Suddenly she got an idea and stood up before turning into a dog, she made sure to look extra sad going up to the door this whimpering and whining. The guards seemed to have a heart for the poch act so they let her in, she ran in and stopped seeing some girl getting harassed by two men. She growled and barked at them making them run away, she then bumped the dark elf woman with a tail wag. She was patted before she left again to find what was calling her to this snowy hell.

She walked around for a bit getting pets and treats but it started getting annoying before she came up to a kid and a girl in an ally. She sneaked her way up to them and hid beside a door to a house. She heard them talking about a kid trying to get someone killed, intrigued she looked at the house she was hiding at. Then a second later the kid that was talking just knocked on the door, the kid seen her and patted her head before both he and the woman left. Ruska changed for form to her tiny self before the door open reveailing a kid, before he could say anything she ran in.

Confused by the smell of the house she didn't hear the boy come up behind her and try to grab her, she looked around and seen the body and heart. " _ **Go to it"**_ the voice said, she went to it and sat down smelling the heart. " _ **Serve him child, kill who he hates"**_ Ruska then turned around kicking the skull away. The boy yelled but she just sat down where it was, he froze looking at her.

Ruska pushed the book to him, he shook his head and smiled a little smile "Are you with the dark brotherhood little fox?" he asked.

" _ **Say yes"**_

Ruska yipped and wagged her tail, this made the boy very happy "So i'm guessing i tell you while another person watches huh? That's clever, ok i'll tell you" he said looking around before sitting down in front of her "You see my mom...she died so they sent me away to that horrible orphanage in Riften, Honorhall. The head mistress is an evil cruel woman, they call her Grelod the kind but she's not kind" Ruska notices that he was getting angry "She terrible to all of us, so i ran away and came home and now you're here so you can kill Grelod the kind" he said happily.

Before the kid could say anything else Ruska ran out of the house and ran back outside the gates. The guards cased her away but she ran off the bridge and out of their sight, she changed back into her normal self and walked up the carriage "Do you take rides?" she asked.

The man looked at her "Yeah i take rides, for a price, where do you wanna go?" he said.

"To a place called Riften, know of it?" she asked.

The man eyed her from head to toe, he watched her hips "Yeah i know Riften, just a little south of here" he said slowly bring his eyes back up to her face, even more slowly at her chest "It'll cost you though"

Ruska knew the guy was checking her out which creeped her out but she played along "But i don't have gold sir" she said sweetly acting cute.

The man smiled "I think we can work something out" then he pointed his thumb to the back "Hop in"

She smiled and skipped into the back of the carriage while the guy drives the wagon down the path towards Riften. Ruska was playing with the doll in her bag being careful the skull didn't show, she smiled looking down at the doll as she felt it's fur, the man tried talking to her but she ignored him for the whole trip. He pulled off onto a dirt road and she looked around to see a wall to a town up ahead, she just jumped off the carriage right there and started walking "Hey wait a minute!" the man yelled.

She turned around "What?" she asked angrily.

"You still owe me young lady" he said grabbing her arm.

She growled a little "Do you really think i'm gonna suck you off for a ten minute ride? Get over yourself" she said ripping her arm back. The man went to grab her again but she snarled at him and her eyes flashed red for a second "Do not make me slit your throat like the pig you are" she threatened. The man backed off and threw his hands up letting her go, she walks away from him and to the city.


	7. Nap time

When she got to the gate the guard stopped her "Hold it" she stopped "Before i let you into Riften you need to pay the visitors tax"

She eyed him "What's the tax for?" she asked.

"For the privilege of entering the city, what does it matter?"

She frowned and thought of something "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" she said starting her lie.

"No why does it matter, i don't care who you are as long as you pay the tax"

"I am from the royal family of Black Marsh" she could see the guard freeze in his armour "You will watch your tongue when you talk to me and i know for a fact that there is no tax to enter a city in Skyrim as i have already been to other cities. It would be a shame if your boss were to hear about you haggling people out of their money. You sure wouldn't want the whole royal guard of Black Marsh on your back because you wanted to rob the princess" she mocked.

"No, no, no, i'm sorry your majesty, please enter the city as you like" he said shakingly.

Ruska smiles to herself as the guard unlocks the gate and held it open for her, she nodded her head at him and he nods as well. Once she enters the city the smell of mead and fish hit her nose, she scowls at the smell. She walked for a little until a man stopped her "I don't know you, you in Riften looking for trouble?" he asked.

She frowned "What's it to you?"

"I'm Maul and the last thing the black briars need is someone sticking their nose where it shouldn't belong"

"Oh i have no business with them" she said walking away.

"Yeah walk away like a good little doggie" he mocked.

This made her mad but she didn't let it get to her and she just went on with walking. She seen the sign to the place before she entered and smiled. It was in the middle of the day but she didn't care. When she walked in she could hear the old hag inside scolding the kids, she growled a little and pulled out her dagger. When she went to the main room they all looked at her, she didn't say a word as she walked up to the old hag and stabbed her in the stomach and walked back out.

Once she left she got a ride back to Windhelm to which she had to trick the guards into letting her in again by becoming a dog because they don't let beast folk inside the city. She went back to the kid never getting his name but she didn't care. Once she made it back to the house she changed again and into her tiny form.

"Well...is Gerlod? You know" all she did was nod before walking back out, he tried stopping her but she didn't stop.

She left the city and sniffed the air smelling something in the air " _ **Follow"**_ confused but Ruska thought the voice was talking about the smell. So she followed the scent in her tiny form going west, it kept getting darker as she got closer and closer to the source of the smell. The smell was that of home, it smelled different than skyrim.

She followed the scent for a while and started to get tired but she was afraid to stop in fear the voice would have the collar shock her again. She yawns seeing a farm not to far away and the smell was strong that way, she got a little hope and had one final sprint to the source. She then seen a wagon on the road and a man sitting and leaning on it, she could clearly see that he was not used to the cold and was shivering due to it. She stopped and looked at him, he looked strange and his lips were turning blue. She took action without thinking and changed herself into her big form, she eased herself behind the man and placed her tail and snout on his lap, successfully closing him in a giant furry blanket. She smiled to herself seeing as he had stopped shivering and his lips were starting to go back to normal, she yawned and fell asleep with him.

* * *

When Cicero woke up strangely very warm he looked around and seen the giant wolf like creature holding him. He froze trying not to wake up the creature out of fear it might kill him, he tried getting up when the creature moved it's head from his lap. He stood and turned around seeing how big the creature was, it was built like a wolf but so much bigger, he could see the muscles on it move when stood and stretched. Now releasing it stood he looked at it and it was staring at him with menacing green eyes. Then in a black ball of fire the wolf turned into a small black fox, Ciero shook his head before looking at the broken wheel on the wagon.

When Ruska turned into her small form seeing as she was scaring the man, she followed his eyes and seen that his wagon was broken. She yawned again sniffing the air and her head followed the scent which seemed to be coming from the box and shook her head. She looked back where the man was and saw that he had left to go up the farm up the hill, she glanced at the box " _ **Stay with him child, stay with the keeper, stay with Cicero"**_ after the voice said that she ran up the behind the man.

Ruska followed the man up the hill and the farmer already opened his mouth before they finished coming up the hill "No, not you again, we want nothing to do with you Cicero!" he yelled making her ears perk up.

"Please Leorius, i'll leave you alone right after i promise i will never come back" Cicero pleaded.

Ruska watched the man yell at Cicero and how Cicero pleaded hopelessly. After a bit Cicero gave up and walked back down the hill, she stared at Leorius for a minute before slowly following Cicero. When she got down there she saw him kicking the broken wheel, she frowned before running back up the hill.

She seen Leorius in his field, she got mad and changed her form and ran at him. She tackled the man making him scream, she snarled at him and grabbed him by the shirt collar before she started to drag him down the hill. Leorius was terrified and Cicero was in awe seeing the wolf thing dragging Leorius down the hill. She stopped at the wagon wheel, the guard ran over with his sword drawn and Ruska snarled at him and sent a deep scary bark at him making the guard go the other way.

Now in fear for his life, Leorius ran back to his house and came back down with his tools and fixed the wagon without fuss as Ruska growled in his ear. Once done he ran back home leaving his tools on the ground not caring about them at the moment. Ruska then changed back in her tiny form midway through jumping onto his wagon.

Cicero rehooked the horse up before getting on the wagon next to the fox, he smiled at it but the fox was just watching where they were going as they started off.


	8. Danger

Ruska was getting annoyed with the voice telling her to talk to Cicero and Cicero whistling, she was getting angry because all she wanted to do was sleep right now. After an hour of keeping her eyes shut and trying to get sleep she opens her eyes to see that they were passing through a small village. She looked at some of the signs and sighed before looking up at Cicero who had a smile on his face as he whistled his little tune, she then felt to see if she still had her bag. She relaxed when she felt it, you may not be able to see the bag when in fox form but you can still feel it, however, if taken off in fox form it will show itself. She laid her head back down as they left the town, but that damn whistling was really getting on her nerves.

She growled and Cicero looked down at her trying to sleep so he stopped whistling for a bit, that was until something started to shine around her neck. It got pretty bright so Cicero wanted to see what it was, and since she started snoring a little he took that as the go ahead. He placed the reins in his one hand while he gently moved the fur around her neck with the other, he found a small metal locket on a little chain. The chain however was forced under a thick metal collar, he frowned at it and went to touch it and it shocked him.

This caused Ruska to bolt up and stare at him before growling at him as she caught him touching her. Cicero jumped away from her and grabbed the reins with both hands again and looked ahead but a whining sound made him look back down at her. He was horrified to see a little bit of smoke come from her neck, she was crying as the collar had shocked her for growling at Cicero with real anger.

He felt bad for the fox, it was clear she was a pet at some point but why they would put a collar that shocks you on her was beyond him. Hell he was a crazy killer and this was way across the line for him, he sped up the horse as Ruska went back to sleep with teary eyes. There was something about this fox that said that she was very important.

Ruska hated the feeling of having this stupid collar on her and have it burn the fur under it as it was a nasty smell. She also doesn't know why the voice told her to stay with this man as he looked like a crazy man which she didn't really care about but she knew he killed people. She mauled people but that wasn't really her doing as she was doing it in her doom form. Yet she doesn't know that's what it's called just yet.

" _ **Tell him!"**_ the voice yelled. Ruska just tried to ignore it but it just kept getting louder and louder and shocked her again making her cry a little as this was worse than most.

As the collar kept shocking her she jumped off the wagon and tried scratching at the collar crying as she did. Cicero had stopped the wagon and walked over to the little fox trying so hard to get the collar off. Without thinking he grabbed the fox, sat down, and grabbed the collar which made him yelp in pain but he didn't let go. When she calmed down a little he was able to get a good look at the collar. This wasn't some normal collar one would put on a pet now that he got a good look at it, it looked like a puzzle lock with some runes engraved into it.

Confused by this strange collar he picked up the small fox and held her as he drove the rest of the way to the sanctuary. The fox never let go of him as it made her feel safe and she had fallen asleep. Cicero was worried but he knew of someone who could help this little fox as he felt like he owed it somehow. He knows the fox helped him get on the road again but he also knows that this fox ain't a normal fox since it can transform into that wolf thing. It wasn't long until they reached the pull off spot for the sanctuary, he stopped the horse and looked at the fox who was sleeping. He put her down on the wagon before walking off to the door under the road.

Ruska woke up alone on the wagon and confused, she looked around but didn't know where she was but liked that it was warm for once. She sniffed the air to find Cicero but soon she heard a door open but didn't know where it was as there was no door around. Then she heard talking and looked around until she seen two men coming up a hill with Cicero. She growled as one of the men was an argonian, growling Cicero walked up to her and petted her head but she didn't let the other two men close to her

"See Veezara?" Cicero said pushing Ruska's neck fur away from her collar.

Veezara looked at the collar from where he was standing "Yeah but it will be easier to get it off inside"

Ruska then watched as Cicero and another man with white hair carry the big box off the back of the wagon. Ruska whined and followed after them but she didn't like the fact that the argonian was behind her. As she ran to keep up with Cicero she would look behind her from time to time to keep an eye on him. However she was a little shy seeing the black door but she slowly followed after Cicero and the other man as they entered with the big box. She followed close behind them and almost tripped the white haired man and ran down the steps passing a girl with blonde hair.

"What the hell? Who let a pest in?!" the girl yelled pulling a sword from her side and walked after the fox.

"Astrid hold on a second" Veezara called after her.

Ruska looked behind her and seen the girl coming up to her, confused she watched her until she seen the sword in her hand. She growled and snarled at her until the argonian grabbed the girl's shoulder "Hold on a second Astrid, that fox is with Cicero" the girl looked at the fox before putting her sword away and Ruska stopped snarling but she still quietly growled at the girl.

Ruska didn't like that girl, not one bit but she calmed down a little as Cicero and the white haired man placed the box down. She listened to them argue a bit before Astrid asked the question "Ok i understand why you brought the Night mother but why did you bring a fox? Is it a pet a or something?"

"Oh no, the little fox helped Cicero and then she followed Cicero" he said. Ruska rolled her eyes "Cicero was worried for the little fox" he said bending down to pick up Ruska who growled at him "You see she has this odd collar on her neck that shocks her" Veezara looked up at that "And it has some runes on it to but Cicero has no idea what it says"

They all sigh "You're taking care of it or it will end up as dinner" Astrid warned.

"Of course Mistress" Cicero said with a smile on his face.

Ruska looks up at the box with a confused look as the voice has not bothered her since she woke up which confused her to no end. Soon the box was picked up again by Cicero and Veezara and they carried it up a flight of stairs. This shocked Ruska, that box had to be heavy cuz she could smell metal inside it. She then seen a little girl walk up to her, well that's what she looked like but from her smell she was not human. She let the girl come up to her and pet her head before feeling for her collar which Ruska didn't like.

Ruska growled "Hey it's ok, i'm not gonna hurt you" the girl said. Ruska still growled but not as loudly as the girl looked over the collar "Hmm, these runes seem to be argonian, Veezara will be able to help" the girl said before seeing another thing around her neck. When the girl tried to look at it Ruska snarled at her shocking the girl. The girl then shook her head as Cicero came over after taking the box upstairs.

"Come along little one" Ruska was surprised by Cicero picking her up "Let's go get this collar off" he said making her calm down a little. Cicero carried Ruska over to the resting Veezara making her freak out, Cicero sat down with her trying to get away "Calm down, we have to get that collar off!" Cicero yelled as he struggled to hold Ruska still. She didn't want that argonian anywhere near her. Cicero covered her face as Veezara looked over the collar.

"Oh jeez, Cicero do you know where this fox came from?" Cicero just shakes his head as he stroked Ruska's fur to keep her calm. Ruska didn't know what to do, yes she could just transform and run away but that would make things weird to have a random beast folk person just sitting there "Cicero this is an argonian control collar, these things have been banned for years for being too cruel. They were made by shamans, an argonian witch and were sold for a very high price before the banning" he mumbled.

"Ok, do you know what the runes say?" Cicero asked.

Veezara thought for a bit getting closer as he had to move some more fur to read the whole thing, Ruska growled and snarled at him for getting closer but didn't bite him "They just say danger do not remove control collar"

"Can you take it off?"

"Hold on" they all looked up to see everyone around them "Are you sure we should take it off? It was most likely put on their for a reason" Arnbjorn said.

"Oh you mean the same reason we should put a collar on you?" Babette said making everyone smile.

"I'm just saying"

" _ **Tell them!"**_ the voice yelled causing the collar to let out a massive shock making Ruska, Cicero who was holding her both yell in pain. Ruska started crying and they all could see smoke coming off her neck.

"Ok that has got to come off!" Cicero yelled as he didn't let go of Ruska as she tried to get away.

Veezara sighed as he moved pieces of wood on the steel collar, it was a quick puzzle but getting the main piece of steel that was holding it together out was a challenge as it was hard to grab. But soon Veezara was able to get the piece out and the steel collar fell to the floor with a loud thud.


	9. Nightgown

It was like time had stopped when the collar reached the floor, it was like if they were waiting for something bad to happen the minute the collar was taken off. But nothing bad ever did happen, in fact nothing happened. Ruska was just in shock of not feeling a heavy weight on her neck and when Cicero let go of her she got off him. They watched her as she stood there looking at everyone then she took off running to the chapel where she turned back into her normal self and felt her neck. It felt so good be able to feel her neck again and she looked down at her locket and opened it, she smiled at her family but something caught her eye. The handprint in the back behind them looked like the ones in this cave place.

That's when she heard someone walking towards where she was so she hid in the shadows as much as she could to not be noticed. However, she seen Cicero coming into the chapel but he didn't see her. She stood quietly as she was gonna run for it " _ **Now is your chance, tell him my child, tell him the words i have spoken to you"**_

With noticing that she wasn't gonna be able to run for it she sled down the wall again, this made Cicero turn around and see the black mass in the corner. Confused he walked over to the mass with his hand close to his blade when he sees two ears. He relaxed and bent down but soon realized that this wasn't the small little fox from before. Still he reached to her anyway making her flinch but soon relaxed after not being hurt.

"Come on out of the shadows so Cicero can see you little one" he said as softly as he could.

" _ **Tell him"**_ she sighed as the voice commanded again, she opened her eyes and could tell it shocked Cicero "Silence dies when darkness rises" she said with the most serious face she could muster.

Cicero was shocked, those are the sacred words but who was this person in the shadows, he thought they were the fox but foxes can't talk right? Ruska stands and towers over Cicero as he was still bent down, Cicero looked up and stood straight where he was a foot taller than her.

Now that she was standing he could see that they were a beast person with the tail and the ears, Ruska walked around him and into the light. Cicero looked her over as he had never seen someone like her before, his eyes went from her big ears down to her really fluffy tail but he seen that her legs were oddly shaped as if a dog or wolf standing on its back legs but still kinda human-like. She wasn't wearing any shoes which confused him until he looked at her feet and she seemed to walk and stand on the fronts of her feet but they were more like paws, just bigger so she would have better balance. She didn't have any hair on her head like the khajiit do as her fur was really fluffy but he could see the fur get shorter as it came to her chest and other front areas. He blushed a little thinking of what she would look like without her odd armor that seemed to only cover her chest and bottoms.

A snapping sound made it to his ears and he blushed a little more as he got caught staring and looked up at her face "Yes?" he croaked out.

"I asked you what that meant?" Ruska said.

Cicero shook his head "Yes!" he yelled happily as stood in front of her "That means you're the listener!" confused Ruska just listened to him babble on about her being some kind of listener. But what surprised her was him grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the room and back to the main room where they seen everyone left. So Cicero pulled Ruska with him to the dining room where they seen that Nazir was cooking. Cicero then let go of Ruska and clapped his hands "Everyone i have great news!" he yelled getting everyone to look at him.

"Cicero who is that?" Babette asked.

Cicero then looked to Ruska "Never did catch your name listener"

"Please don't call me that and my name is Ruska, i was born in Black Marsh where i had gotten kidnapped and brought here but i was able to get away" Ruska explained as Cicero led her down the stairs and to the others.

As they sat down at the table "Tell them what you told Cicero, about the voice"

"What voice?" Astrid asks crossing her arms.

"Miss Ruska is the listener, she said the sacred words and Cicero is guessing that Ruska was that little fox"

"Huh?" everyone said as this all confused them.

Ruska sighed "It would be better if i explained, you see i'm a limothiit"

"Wait you mean the mythical fox people of Black Marsh? That's so cool, i thought you guys were just a myth" Babette said with a happy smile on her face like she had just met her idol "Oh jeez i was so intrigued with how your kind can change shape and even species!"

Ruska nods with a sad smile "It's not like that, not anymore. I'm the last of my kind" this made everyone shut up "When i was born i was very rare as all black limothiits are very rare. My mother was even more rare as she was all white, all i know of them is what Master Shera had told me about them"

"Master Shera? The most talented mage of all time?" Festus asked.

"I don't know about the most talented part but he was a mage, he taught me everything that i know today. My family was the last remaining pack of limothiit as all the others were hunted down, i was lucky if not traumatized. I may have been just a pup when it happened but i remember it like it was yesterday, my father was killed in our own home and my mother took me and my brother away but we didn't get very far" everyone was just so into her story no one said a word "We had crashed into the mud and the wagon landed on my mother killing her instantly, my brother had broken his leg in the crash but he was much older than me at the time as i couldn't even speak. I was too upset to move and i didn't care if i was killed or not at that point so my brother carried me in his teeth as we couldn't stand on two legs yet. He carried me for a while or it felt like it but i remember him hiding me and the hunters finding him before he could hide. He fought them off for a few minutes but he too fell as he was too tired and broken, i watched a red argonian use an axe to chop off my brothers head right in front of me while he was still alive"

Veezara then understood why she was afraid of him or just didn't want anything to do with him "Ruska i am sorry for you" he said.

Ruska shook her head "It's not your fault, after i watched that happen i got scared and i ran and i ran as far as i could away from them. I ended up running into Master Shera and i hid in his robe, i was so happy that he took me in, that he lied to the hunters. I lived with him and he taught me about my own race, he taught me to speak and how to walk on two legs which is why i sound like a wood elf and not a limothiit because i did not grow up with any around"

"So where is this Shera now? And why did you come here?" Gabriella asked.

"Well because the voice told me to follow a scent and i did which led to me finding Cicero on the side of the road nearly frozen to death. I was also told to help him and stay with him, but this wasn't the first time the voice had talked to me, in fact she helped me with a lot of things, like getting over my fear of heights" Ruska then sighed "But the reason Master Shera is no longer around is because the hunters ended up killing him as well so i have no one left"

"Aww" both Babette and Gabriella said as they came over and hugged Ruska "Can we keep her Astrid please?" they both begged.

Ruska growled "I'm not some kind of pet you know" she mumbled.

"Ruska said the sacred words, she is listener there for she has to stay" Cicero said.

Astrid seemed to think on this for a while before looking at Ruska dead in the eye "Can you take an order to kill?"

"I don't need an order to kill just point me at someone" Ruska had no idea where that came from but she was glad that it seemed to do the trick to convince Astrid to let her stay which made her a little happy as she had nowhere to go.

She looked to Cicero who smiled at her which made her smile a little but soon everyone started going to bed as everyone was eating when Ruska was talking. Gabriella and Babette showed Ruska where she could stay to sleep which was up the stairs beside the dining room. Ruska didn't want to stay there as she would rather stay with Cicero, she glanced behind to see Cicero leaving the room and she wanted to follow him. Ruska felt like she had to be next to Cicero to protect him but she didn't follow him.

Gabriella then grabbed the dark brotherhood armour "Now Ruska do you think you'll be able to fit these?" she asked.

Ruska picked it up and looked at it, it looked too small as it was made for a human "Do you have anything bigger?"

"Well we could make a suit for you as you will be needing one. I can even make it like your current style" Babette said "But i will need to measure you"

Ruska nods and Babette gets a tool to measure her as she was gonna make something for her, she got her height minus the ears and the place where her tail started and her width. After she was done she left and Ruska looked at the empty bed before Babette came back holding a nightgown "Sorry but this is all i could find because i wanted to look at your armor more closely to get your suit just right" Ruska nods and takes the gown "You can change in my room, it's the smallest one just inside that hall"

Ruska takes the gown to the smallest room past the door to the hall where it led to other rooms. She noticed the room doesn't have a door but she just sighed and started undoing her hide jack and shorts with her leather leg knife holders. She pulled on the red nightgown and it was surprisingly very comfy and it came down to cover her lady bits. Her tail however pulled it up a bit in the back, it embarrassed her but she couldn't do anything about it as the gown was also made for a human. She shrugged her shoulders and picked up her other clothes with her bag, swords, and staff and then she quickly made her way back to Babette to give them to her.

Babette smiled at her "You look so cute in that" she said happily taking Ruska's clothes "Good, these will help with the new suit. It should be done by morning so you can go get some rest"

Ruska still had her bag and swords with the staff but she didn't wanna sleep with the other boys, she sniffed the air and followed Cicero's scent to a big room through the same hall she just came from. When she got there Cicero wasn't in there but she knew this was his room since his scent was all over the place. She yawned and placed her bag, swords, and staff on the table and laid down on the bed. She fell asleep again but opened her eye hearing someone come into the room, it was Cicero so she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

Cicero yawned walking into his room not noticing someone in his room as he placed his tools for the mother on his table. There he seen the bag, swords, and the staff he seen on Ruska earlier, curiosity got the better of him as he seen something pretty big inside her bag. When he opened it he pulled out a small stuffed fox or wolf along with a small coin purse, but the last thing he pulled out was the skull of an argonian.

He was confused but not concerned until he heard a small moan beside him, he froze and looked over and he nearly dropped the skull. He seen Ruska in his bed in a gown that barely came past her bottoms. Ruska had moved from her side to her back and Cicero watched her chest slowly rise and fall.

"Staring is rude you know?" Ruska said catching Cicero making him blush. Ruska opened her eyes as Cicero tried to come up with an excuse to leave but this made Ruska giggle a little but then seen that all her stuff was out of her bag which made her growl "Why are you in my bag?" she asked angrily.

"Cicero couldn't help himself but he must ask why there is a skull in the listeners bag" he said changing the subject.

Ruska showed her teeth "What's inside my bag does not concern you jester now put it all back" she growled out.

Cicero put all her stuff back in the bag "Cicero is sorry" he said but when he looked back over Ruska had her back turned to him "Does the listener know this is Cicero's room?" he asked.

Ruska's ears went down "Yes i do and don't call me that" she huffed out.

"And that is Cicero's bed"

"Yes i know"

"Well where is Cicero going to sleep?" he asked.

This made Ruska sit up and look at him like he was stupid "On the bed, where else? Not on the floor" Cicero went to open his mouth but Ruska just rolled her eyes and changed into her tiny form "Does this make it better? Now come lay down if you're tired, i heard you yawn coming in"

Well Cicero was tired but was he really going to sleep in the same bed as the listener? Well his body was but his mind was still going nuts as he went over and sat on the bed kicking off his shoes and gloves along with his hat. Ruska gave him a confused look "You're gonna sleep in that?" she asked.

"Well unlike you Cicero does not have sleep wear at the moment so this will have to do for now" he said ruffling his hair and he laid down on his back close to the wall. Ruska came up and laid beside him with the both yawning they fell asleep.


	10. Narfi

When Cicero opened his eyes he froze seeing as Ruska was back in her normal form in nothing but that short gown. She was still asleep and sorta snoring which made him smile a little as he found it kinda cute, but he looked at her fur and how fluffy it was. Ruska had her back to him so her tail was laying on her leg and somewhat off the bed. He couldn't help himself and touched her tail which made him smile as her tail was really soft. (For example Ruska's fur felt like a giant fluffy teddy bear and where her fur was shorter it felt more like a rabbits fur) He petted her tail for a bit noticing that his hand started to roam on her, his hand went right under her gown and up her back. Without his gloves on his hand slid up her back and to her stomach, now Cicero did not realize what he was doing at the moment as he just wanted to feel her fur. Soon his hand moved a little further up bumping his hand on a mound of fur.

Ruska moaned a little moving to her back still asleep and that's when Cicero seen where his hand had been. He yelped and ripped his hand back and jumped off the bed, this made Ruska shoot up in the bed and only got a glance of Cicero leaving the room. Confused she just tilted her head as she watched him leave.

She just shrugged her shoulders and got up, she walked out of the room in search of something to eat. She went to the kitchen to get some food when she seen Festus drinking something and when she walked in he spit out his drink and covered his eyes.

Ruska gave him an odd look as he stood up and left the room with his drink, she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to the food. As she was eating she got some food sauce stuck in her fur. She groaned as cleaning her fur was a pain in the ass then she remembered the pool of water in the other room with the waterfall. She then smiled a little walking into the other room with the waterfall. She didn't notice anyone else in the room but in truth she really didn't care either as she walked up to the pool and threw off the nightgown and stepped into the pool.

She turned around and seen everyone but she didn't care, she went under the water and shook her body for a bit before coming back up for air. That's when she seen Astrid and noticed that everybody else left "What are you doing?" she asked in a condescending tone.

Ruska looked up at her scrubbing her fur with the water where the food was "I'm taking care of my fur, is that a problem?" she asked confusingly.

Astrid pinched her nose "No it's not a problem but you need to let the others know when you're gonna take a bath"

Ruska tilter her head "Why?"

"Because you can't take a bath with everyone else in the room, it's inappropriate" Astrid explained as Ruska climbed out of the pool and shook her whole body kinda hard shaking all the water off.

Ruska felt better not having her fur weighed down by the water not noticing she just soaked Astrid "What's inappropriate?" she asked looking over at Astrid then seen that she was soaked "Sorry" she said shyly.

Astrid took a deep breath as Ruska put the nightgown back on "Wait you don't know what inappropriate means?" Astrid asked confused shaking her hair because of the water.

"Nope, what does it mean?" Ruska asked sweetly.

"It means not suitable or proper in the circumstances, meaning a woman does not show a man her naked body if they are not courting" Astrid explained "Especially a girl at your age"

"Hey i may be short but i'm not a child" Ruska explained "But i do have a question"

"And what's that?" Astrid asked as the two were now walking to her bedroom.

"What is courting?" Ruska asked confused "You said a woman doesn't show her naked body to a man unless they are courting"

Astrid blushed a little "Uhh, it means...it means" Astrid struggled "You know what i'm not telling you. You'll find out on your own one day. Now Babette had made something for you but wasn't able to give it to you as she was tired and asked me to give it to you" she said opening her dresser and pulled out her old outfit with a new outfit.

It was black and red and leather looking, she smiled and pulled on the pants for the new outfit. The pants came to just above her knees before her legs bent as Babette was not able to make pants that bent like that. The top was a little bigger than her old outfit and covered some more of her chest other than her just the main reason to cover while the shoulders were not a thing as the top of the top just wrapped around her chest. Astrid was impressed with the outfit as Ruska put on the hand wraps that came to her elbows on both arms. She then clipped on the weapon belts that came across her waist and back and chest for the staff.

Ruska was happy as it was very comfy "Good, now that you're all dressed to kill i want you to get some work from Nazir to get a feel for killing"

Ruska nods "Cool, so who's Nazir?"

"The redgard, now go so i can dry off"

Ruska nods again walking off back to the main room seeing that everyone was back there and back to doing their own thing. She just hummed and skipped back to Cicero's room to get her things and when she got there she seen Cicero in there writing in his journal. She smiled and greeted him "Hey Cicero" she said.

This made Cicero jump and stand "Hello listener, Cicero sees you got a new outfit"

"Yeah, Babette made it" she said spinning around then stopping "Well Astrid wants me to do some work so i had to look the part" she explained getting her things.

Cicero gave her an odd look "Astrid wants you to work? What about the night mother?" he asked. Ruska frowned "As listener you listen to the night mother and not Astrid Ruska"

"But she was just a voice up until now, i just thought that i was crazy" she said sadly.

Cicero sighed and walked up to her "You're not crazy, you are important to this brotherhood, to this family"

Ruska looks down "But i don't know what to do, i just want a family"

"You have a family Ruska, you have us. The night mother brought you to me, to us" Ruska stopped and looked at him as he had stopped talking in third person and he grabbed her hands "Ruska you are the most important person in this family and it is your duty as listener to lead it into greatness"

"But i don't know anything about leading anybody"

"That's fine, i can help you as i have lived with two other listeners" Ruska rubbed her neck "Ruska listen to me, this brotherhood is in shambles, this is the last remaining sanctuary in all of Tamriel. Please you must listen to me and listen to the night mother and not Astrid"

Ruska then looked down in defeat "Fine" she mumbled "But what do i do?"

"Wait for the night mother to give you an order but before that i guess you could do other things" he said offly as he let go of her hands before leaving again but this time taking his tools with him.

Ruska was just left there to her own thoughts, what should she do? She wants a place to stay but she also wants to follow the voice as the voice was never wrong. Now knowing that this voice is something way more important and it makes her important and more important than Astrid. In truth Ruska doesn't really care all that much for her because she does not know her and has only known the voice, she trusted the voice but she had no real reason to trust Astrid.

Ruska sighed and moseyed her way to the main room to find Nazir who wasn't there so she went to the kitchen to find him drinking some mead. She walked up to him and tapped his shoulder since he didn't hear her come in. When she tapped him he jumped a little but turned around to see her "What do you want furball?" he asked looking down at her.

Ruska pouted "I was told to come to you if i was looking for work" she huffed out.

Nazir looked her over "You sure? This ain't the kind of work cut out for a kid furball" he mocked.

"I'm not a kid! I'll have you know that i'm full grown" she argued crossing her arms. This made Nazir laugh and drink from his mug some more. Ruska tapped her foot "Are you gonna give me a job or not?" she asked angrily.

Nazir sighed and pulled out a piece of paper from his coat and held it out to her, Ruska smiled and walked over but before she could grab it he pulled it away "You do know that if you get caught the brotherhood won't bail you out?"

Ruska frowns and takes it from him "I can handle myself you know? I'm not the only surviving one of my kind for no reason" she said a little mad then walked off with the paper.

Nazir just sighed and rolled his eyes "That kid is gonna get herself killed if she keeps acting like that"

Ruska just shook her head as she unrolled the paper to see that it was a map making four different spots, one was where the sanctuary was and the others were three different people. One was a man in a town called Ivarstead which was the closest, another man but he looked funny with teeth coming out of his mouth in an odd way in a place called Morthal, the last was a woman on the far end of the map in somewhere named Dawnstar. She frowned looking at it and something finally hit her, she has no idea where any of this was or how to get there.

She huffed when Babette came over seeing her sitting at the table where all the potions were "Something wrong?" she asked looking at the map "Oh i see, Nazir give you your first set of contracts?"

"Yeah but i have a problem" Ruska mumbled.

"What's that?"

"I have no idea where i'm going"

Babette thought for a while before picking some plants from her table confusing the other two "How good is your sense of smell?"

"Very good"

"Prefect" she said holding up lavender plants "Lavender grow all over the place in Ivarstead which is where your first contract is" Ruska then smiled then she held up some kind of glowing plant "This is nirnroot, and in Morthal where your second contract is they grow in bunches since it's kinda like a swap there" Ruska nods as then Babette held up the last thing "These are snowberries, meaning they grow up north around Dawnstar"

Babette then handed them to Ruska "It'll be kind hard to sniff these out but i'll do my best, i guess"

"Oh and one more thing" Ruska looked up "Did you get the passphrase for the black door" confused Ruska tilted her head "I guess not" she then wrote it down on a piece of paper before handing it to her "Do not lose that and you'll only need it once as the door will always allow you to enter after once"

Ruska nods and stands and leaves the table. On her way out she said goodbye to Cicero who brushed her off as he was busy with the night mother. She then left the sanctuary with a smile on her face as the door slammed close behind her which made her jump in shock. However, now that she was alone in a foreign place she didn't know, she got scared. Wanting to turn around and go back inside but not being able to, she took a deep breath to calm down and she looked at the map pulling out the lavender in her bag and gave it a sniff before throwing it away. She put her map away in her bag and changed in her tiny form sniffing the air for lavender.

Three hours later…

"I can't believe this! I'm lost, how the hell did i get lost following the damn road!?" Ruska yelled and complained as she walked through the woods picking sticks out of her back in her normal fur "I come all this way and get chased by bandits and now i don't even know where the hell i am! This some bullshit!" Ruska continued to grumble as she kept walking through the woods until she seen a road and a river. She smiled and cheered running to the road and to the river drinking in handfuls as she did not have a cup or bottle in her bag. She made a mental note to carry one.

After drinking some water she stood back up and looked around when she heard a loud thud, she turned her head and could hear people talking and doing things. She smiled again, people, then she heard a gruntling growl come from behind her making her freeze. She turned her head and seen a massive troll right behind her, Ruska screamed and ran up to the town away from he troll as fast as she could. When she got to the town all the guards were to busy with the troll that they hardly even noticed Ruska running away from it. To which she took advantage of fully.

Ruska hid in an old broken hose across the creek to get away from the troll while the guards took care of it. There she seen a weird looking man in nothing but rags, he was sitting at a table that held little no food on it. He was talking to himself which confused Ruska to no end but she just shook her head watching the guards fight the troll when something caught her ear. The odd man called himself Nafi which made her look at him as he held his head. She smiles wickedly at the thought of finding one of her targets, she sneaks up behind him pulling out her sword. With one clean swing she stabbed him in the back, killing him instantly. When she pulled her sword back the guards had killed the troll so she used that as an escape to leave the town.

(A/N: I know i said that Ruska is around four feet tall but let me tell you just how tall she is. Ruska 5 feet tall exactly. Cicero is a little bit taller than her and we all know that Cicero is one of the shortest characters in the game. So there)


End file.
